{"id":8915563,"date":"2026-05-29T21:44:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/va\/?post_type=app_event&p=8915563"},"modified":"2026-06-01T21:54:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:54:59","slug":"villa-albertine-residents-shine-at-cannes-2026","status":"publish","type":"app_event","link":"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/va\/events\/villa-albertine-residents-shine-at-cannes-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Villa Albertine Residents Shine at Cannes 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ugo Arsac wins Best Immersive Work for Kat\u00e0basis<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Villa Albertine resident Ugo Arsac was awarded Best Immersive Work at the 79th Festival de Cannes for\u00a0Kat\u00e0basis<\/em>, created during his residency in New York. The Jury of the Immersive Competition, presided by choreographer and filmmaker Blanca Li, presented him with the prize at the Carlton Hotel, where the Immersive Competition was hosted for its third edition. The ten immersive experiences presented during the festival were fully booked, making this year’s Immersive Competition a remarkable success<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drawing on the ancient grec myth of Katabasis \u2014 a descent into the underworld \u2014 this interactive documentary explores New York\u2019s underground labyrinth, within the city\u2019s unconscious layers.\u00a0Kat\u00e1basis\u00a0gives voice to those who live in these spaces, work through their tunnels, or hide in their corners: buried in unexpected places, their stories collide and resonate, shaping a vital and complex territory. The experience shifts perspective, revealing the bowels of the metropolis at the heart of a polarized American society.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Developed during Ugo Arsac\u2019s residency in New York, Kat\u00e0basis<\/em> grew out of an extensive exploration of the city\u2019s underground soundscapes. Sound lies at the heart of the experience: through a remarkably refined spatial audio design, visitors are immersed in New York\u2019s hidden subterranean world. As they move through the virtual environment and approach figures emerging from the darkness, these individuals gradually materialize and begin sharing their stories. Blending sound, presence, and exploration, Kat\u00e0basis<\/em> transforms the city\u2019s underground infrastructure into a living landscape where personal narratives reveal the social and political tensions running beneath the surface of contemporary America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Kat\u00e0basis is a magnificent immersive work, deeply human, authentic and emotionally powerful, that allows us to reconnect with what binds together seemingly ordinary human beings<\/em>.” \u2014 Blanca Li, Immersive Competition Jury President<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immersive Competition Award Winners \u00a9 Michael Jan<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Phuong Mai Nguyen opens Critics’ Week with In Waves \u2014 acquired by Netflix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2023 Villa Albertine resident Phuong Mai Nguyen arrived at Cannes with In Waves, her animated feature adaptation of AJ Dungo’s beloved 2019 graphic memoir. Selected to open the prestigious Critics’ Week sidebar, Shortly after its premiere, Netflix acquired global rights outside France \u2014 marking the streamer’s first major deal out of the 2026 festival, a sign of both the film’s quality and its broad appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In <\/em>In Waves, AJ, a shy teenag\u00ader, meets Kris\u00adten while in high school in Los Ange\u00adles. Kris\u00adten is pas\u00adsion\u00adate about surf\u00ading\u2026 and she\u2019s the most beau\u00adti\u00adful per\u00adson he\u2019s ever met. He falls mad\u00adly in love with her. As life seems to final\u00adly come togeth\u00ader for AJ, Kristen\u2019s life starts falling apart, shat\u00adtered by ill\u00adness. Togeth\u00ader, they will fight adver\u00adsi\u00adty with dig\u00adni\u00adty and enjoy their now-shared pas\u00adsion for surf\u00ading and for the ocean, but also their loy\u00adal band of friends\u2026 even when they know Kris\u00adten is doomed. This is what hap\u00adpens when love and friend\u00adship become a wave stronger than\u00a0anything else. <\/em> For the first time in the section\u2019s history, an animated feature will open Critics\u2019 Week (May 13\u201321). In Waves<\/em> is among the 11 titles selected this year, marking a significant milestone for animation within this section of the Festival de Cannes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2023 Villa Albertine resident Phuong Mai Nguyen\u2019s film, In Waves, opened Cannes Critics Week and was subsequently purchased by Netflix.<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Discover the full list of French (co-) produced winners at Cannes 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The 79th Cannes Film Festival confirmed the enduring strength of French and French co-produced cinema on the international stage. Across the official competition and the festival’s parallel sections \u2014 including Critics’ Week, the Directors’ Fortnight, and the Immersive Competition \u2014 French projects and co-productions secured major prizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Phuong](\"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/In-Waves1-e1776101059372.jpg\")
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